Apple's Sleek New Mac Pro Hits the MarketDecember 18, 2013
Apple has announced that its new Mac Pro will be available to order starting Thursday. It unveiled the system in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference, surprising attendees with its cylindrical design. The aluminum body is just an eighth of the size of a standard tower unit -- 9.9 inches tall, 6.6 inches in diameter and weighing in at around 11 pounds.

MacBooster Can Help Keep Your Mac HummingNovember 26, 2013
Surf over to the Mac App Store, and you'll find plenty of utilities for keeping your Apple personal computer in tip-top shape. There are tools for freeing up RAM and cleaning files from disks and thoroughly uninstalling apps. Have you ever wished, however, that you had a an app to perform all those tasks under the same hood? IObit is doing that with MacBooster.

The Yay! and Uh-Oh Reasons for Slowing Mac SalesNovember 21, 2013
There's been some concern over the last year or so over slowing Mac sales. Instead of selling at wildly better rates than the constricting PC industry, Macs have been languishing. Of course, at the same time iPad and iPhone sales have been skyrocketing, so it's not hard to point a finger at iPads as a reason. Makes sense. iPads hold a heckuva lot of computing power inside their one-piece slab.

You've Got to Touch Apple's Airy New iPad to Believe ItOctober 22, 2013
In a flurry of presentations at its special media event on Tuesday, Apple introduced new iPads, MacBook Pros, the Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks -- available immediately, and free -- as well new generations of iWork and iLife app suites. The biggest buzz comes from Apple's brand new iPad, the iPad Air, which is 20 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter than the fourth-generation iPad that it replaces.

Apple's Oct. 22 Invites Kick Rumor Mill Into High GearOctober 16, 2013
Apple on Tuesday sent out invitations to an undisclosed event to be held Oct. 22 in San Francisco, fueling fresh speculation about the company's planned product launches. It's widely expected that Apple will unveil new versions of the iPad and iPad mini. "The most solid rumors are that we'll see a 9.7-inch fifth-generation iPad," suggested Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research.

Apple's New iMac Makes Desktops Look AliveSeptember 24, 2013
Apple on Tuesday launched a refresh of its iMac all-in-one computer with faster processors, communications and storage, as well as new graphics capabilities. The launch comes amid weak PC sales worldwide. So who would want a faster, better-connected desktop with advanced storage options and a massive hard drive? "Anyone who's a stone Apple PC user," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

The Waxing of Apple While Windows WanesSeptember 04, 2013
Just who killed the PC, anyway? For if it's not dead yet, it surely will be in a few years -- at least according to IDC, which now projects that worldwide PC shipments will fall by 9.7 percent this year, representing the largest market contraction on record. The market is expected to decline through 2014. Then, in 2015, IDC projects it will shift into single-digit modest growth.

Ramping Up Retail in the Run-Up to Release SeasonAugust 28, 2013
Apple's retail operations can be counted among Steve Jobs' "babies"; the stores' slick design and sales techniques are legendary in the industry for their per-square-footage sales. In 2012, Apple retail store sales outpaced Tiffany's by 40 percent. Apple is in no danger of following in the footsteps of, say, J.C. Penney or Sears, but its retail operations have shown some worrisome signs of decay.

Behind the WWDC GlitterJune 14, 2013
Going into WWDC I think Apple enthusiasts were so pent up for some Apple awesomeness -- myself included -- that we let the soft and low-voiced cooing of design knight Jony Ive lull us into a receptive state more akin to the wooing of a potential partner than a critical study of design principles. It's not like we had beer goggles on going into the iOS 7 portion of the WWDC keynote, but. . .

Who Will Buy Apple's Shiny New Mac Pro?June 13, 2013
In an attempt to revive its flagging reputation for introducing innovative products, Apple unveiled a new Mac Pro at its World Wide Developers Conference, being held in San Francisco this week. "Can't innovate any more, my ass," said SVP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller as the Mac Pro made its debut. The futuristic-looking black cylindrical device stands less than 10 inches tall.

WWDC 2013: All About Managing ExpectationsJune 12, 2013
There was no shortage of news coming out of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference this week, including a glimpse at the next generation of iOS. On the hardware front, meanwhile, the company revealed it will launch a new desktop computer and a refreshed MacBook Air line. Then, of course, there was its new streaming radio application.

Stay and StatsBar Worthy Additions to a Mac's Utility BeltMay 21, 2013
Designers of operating systems can't think of everything that should be in their programs. Utilities are a testament to that. Utilities are software programs that do things that should have been included in an operating system, but weren't. They can help you keep your system performing at top speed or solve irritating problems.

WebStart's a Snore-Worthy Substitute for iGoogle's Snappy StyleMay 14, 2013
With iGoogle scheduled to be axed in November, orphans of that offering will be looking at alternatives like uStart, Protopage, Netvibes and Myfav.es. While those alternatives will meet the needs of many iGoogle users set adrift by the search company, some souls may want to create their own homepage substitutes for the versatile portal.

Easy, Elegant Scapple Brightens Mind MapsMay 07, 2013
Scapple isn't a spelling mistake for that Pennsylvania Dutch concoction made with pork scraps, corn meal, flour and spices. In fact, scapple is actually a word meaning to work roughly, or shape without finishing. It's also the name of a dynamite new mind mapping program from Literature and Latte, the folks who brought the Mac world Scrivner.

Snagit's a Slick Screen GrabberApril 02, 2013
For many Mac users, screen grabbing tools provided by OS X are adequate for their needs.
If you need to snatch a full screen, shift + command + 3 will suffice. If you want to carve out a section of your display, there's shift + command + 4. However, some Mac jockeys need to go beyond those simple grabbing techniques. For those users, there's Snagit 2.

How to Run Android Apps on Your Windows or Mac MachineMarch 28, 2013
Have you got some favorite smartphone apps? Not convinced by Microsoft's new Windows app selection? Itching to see some Android action on your MacBook Pro? Don't worry, just install an Android emulator on your Windows or Mac machine and run all of the Android apps that you've grown to love. A version is even available for Windows 8 Surface tablets.

Alfred Offers Bat-tastic Productivity for Mac OwnersMarch 19, 2013
We can't all have the riches of Bruce Wayne. Mac owners, however, can have a virtual version of his faithful servant, Alfred. Like Wayne's invaluable butler, this free productivity app is also named Alfred. Its latest version (2.0), released this month, is more useful than ever.

A Few Quirks Keep Mellel Lite From Being a HeavyweightMarch 05, 2013
Word processors can be a matter of taste. Some writers feel that the more the word processor departs from the original word processor -- the typewriter -- the more it interferes with the actual act of writing. For those writers, there are bare bones word processors like Byword and iA Writer.

Pixelmator Delivers Powerful Image Editing at a Bargain PriceJanuary 15, 2013
Many amateur shutterbugs can't afford professional-caliber image editing programs like Photoshop and Aperture, so they're always on the prowl for economical alternatives to those Adobe and Apple offerings. Pixelmator is such an alternative. For a fraction of the price of the big-name image editors, the software is loaded with features that will open the spigot for many a shooter's creative juices.

For Apple, Repairability Rules Don't ApplyDecember 06, 2012
Apple is frequently taken to task for its design choices, many of which revolve around the battery. For years, the naysayers were irritated that Apple's iPods and iPhones, for example, didn't have user-replaceable batteries. Worse yet, you couldn't swap in a new battery while on the go if you ran out of juice. Then Apple took away the removable batteries in its MacBook line, favoring instead to glue them in.

Intel Could Get Strong-ARMed Out of MacsNovember 07, 2012
Apple might be looking for ways to ditch Intel in its Macs in favor of its own silicon. The company recently restructured its executive team, placing hardware guru Bob Mansfield in charge of a technologies group that is reportedly leading new chip development at the company. That research could help transition its ARM mobile chips into its computer lineup, giving Apple products a more uniform inner makeup.

Skinny Mini Joins Apple's Chorus LineOctober 24, 2012
Apple revealed not only the much-anticipated iPad mini Tuesday, but also a flurry of updates across its product line. The full-size iPad, now in its fourth generation, gained a new A6X chip with twice the CPU and graphics performance as the previous generation's A5X chip. The 13-inch MacBook Pro picked up a graphic-intense Retina display, while Apple also announced a beefed-up Mac mini.

Apple Fans, Welcome to the MachineAugust 23, 2012
I've been an Apple Mac user since high school, using them even as I struggled through business classes on clunky PCs. As an adult, I used them in college. I have since purchased five Mac laptops and an iMac, and while I'm not a graphic artist, I've pounded on them most days of my life for years and years.

Linux and Apple: Which Is the Lemon, Which Is the Lemonade?August 23, 2012
When life gives you lemons, everyone knows you should make lemonade. But what if life gives you Linux on a Retina MacBook Pro? That, too, has been shockingly referred to as a "lemon" in recent days, but the solution there isn't so clear. "If you are planning to buy one of the new Apple MacBook Pro notebooks with a Retina Display for use under Linux, hold off on your purchase," warned Phoronix's Michael Larabel.